I’ve written before about being a visual eater. I’ve always been drawn to colour, ever since I was a child. I dreamt of going to an art school when I was younger, but never quite had the confidence to go through with it. Lack of confidence is something I have struggled with for all my life.
After years in a job role that went against my nature and cost me a great deal of stress (and culminated in a serious bout of depression), I found my true calling by complete accident. I often ponder the fact that what started off as a bit of a necessary sacrifice borne out of deep conviction, has given me a completely new lease of life and paid me back in plenty of fulfilment and immense job satisfaction. I can now play with colour all I like and I get to call it my job. I count myself very lucky indeed. This colourful miso tofu bowl is my latest lunch obsession, variations of which I have been having a lot lately. I even smuggled a lunch box full of it and a pair of chopsticks in the sleeve of my winter coat on an EasyJet flight this week as I wasn’t sure if they were gonna let me bring a metal fork with sharp prongs and I wasn’t going to risk having nothing to eat my lunch with. Food is a serious matter to me, never come between me and my food! This pretty, Japanese-inspired lunch bowl is full of flavour and texture. It features brown rice seasoned with homemade furikake, edamame beans, stir-fried kale, radishes, carrots, spring onion, pickled ginger and miso tofu that can be either pan-fried or baked. All of this gets an extra drizzle of miso dressing on top. It’s fresh, filling, crunchy and soft all at the same time. It’s easy to throw together and travels well (including crossing borders with ease 😉 ).
5 nori (toasted seeweed) sheets 30 g / ¼ cup sesame seeds salt, to taste (optional, I didn’t add any)
MISO MARINADE & DRESSING
2 tbsp white / shiro miso paste 4 tsp rice wine vinegar 2 tsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp maple syrup 1 tsp chilli paste (I used sambal oelek) water
ASSEMBLY
